The Great Songs: The Kinks – Waterloo Sunset

Welcome the the second installment of our new weekly series The Great Songs. This week, I want to spotlight Ray Davies and The Kinks.

I saw Davies earlier this month (here’s my review for the Kansas City Star) and was struck by how humble, laid back, and amiable he was for a guy that has contributed so much to the world of rock. Some even people say that the chainsaw distortion on their early tunes helped invent heavy metal.

“Waterloo Sunset” is from 1967’s “Something Else,” and it just happens to be my favorite Kinks tune ever. It’s decidedly NOT heavy metal, but from a period when Ray’s songwriting was really hitting its diverse and creative peak.

Pete Townshend said this about Davies: “The Kinks were much more quintessentially English. I always think that Ray Davies should one day be Poet Laureate. He invented a new kind of poetry and a new kind of language for pop writing that influenced me from the very, very, very beginning.”

Couldn’t agree more this song speaks volumes every time I hear it. The Kinks are definitely one of the greatest and most disregarded bands ever! The late ’60s-70s period in popular music was so damn prolific, fervent and downright badass it’s a shame most people don’t acknowledge all the great music and artists during that time. It will surely never be imitated again in pop music.

Couldn’t agree more this song speaks volumes every time I hear it. The Kinks are definitely one of the greatest and most disregarded bands ever! The late ’60s-70s period in popular music was so damn prolific, fervent and downright badass it’s a shame most people don’t acknowledge all the great music and artists during that time. It will surely never be imitated again in pop music.

Couldn’t agree more this song speaks volumes every time I hear it. The Kinks are definitely one of the greatest and most disregarded bands ever! The late ’60s-70s period in popular music was so damn prolific, fervent and downright badass it’s a shame most people don’t acknowledge all the great music and artists during that time. It will surely never be imitated again in pop music.